I’m hoping it will get a bit easier in the next few weeks, I guess we’re taking our chances until then. Before anyone jumps all over us for being the panicky type, it’s tough not to be a bit panicky when you are a teacher. I have just witnessed about ten times the average number of illnesses during the first few months of school compared to the other 21 years of my teaching career. Top that off with having little kids at home who also go to school everyday and it does get kind of scary. I have had about 20 kids out for one week or longer so far. Of course there is no official notice if any of this is actually the H1N1 flu. Our pediatrician just finally received the regular flu shot for kids, this was also delayed one month from the time they estimated it would arrive. Hopefully, we’ll all be fine, but my kids will be getting the H1N1 vaccine as soon as possible.
I am just starting to hear a lot about this H1N1 vaccine. Our doctor wants my wife to get the vaccine since she is pregnant, but she’s worried about the side effects to the babies. Can you trust this vaccine? I’ve heard in the news that several nurses will not take it themselves. Scary stuff.
I keep thinking about that scary movie: “Outbreak”
I am just starting to hear a lot about this H1N1 vaccine. Our doctor wants my wife to get the vaccine since she is pregnant, but she’s worried about the side effects to the babies. Can you trust this vaccine? I’ve heard in the news that several nurses will not take it themselves. Scary stuff.
I keep thinking about that scary movie: “Outbreak”
Take a look at what has happened to pregnant women who contract H1N1. I’m sure that there are a lot of dissenters, but I’d take my chances and get the vaccine rather than take my chances without it. Just one person’s opinion.
I am just starting to hear a lot about this H1N1 vaccine. Our doctor wants my wife to get the vaccine since she is pregnant, but she’s worried about the side effects to the babies. Can you trust this vaccine? I’ve heard in the news that several nurses will not take it themselves. Scary stuff.
I keep thinking about that scary movie: “Outbreak”
Take a look at what has happened to pregnant women who contract H1N1. I’m sure that there are a lot of dissenters, but I’d take my chances and get the vaccine rather than take my chances without it. Just one person’s opinion.
Panda, I second TMare. I heard a very sad story on NPR a few months ago about a pregnant woman in Texas who contracted H1N1, became very ill to the point where they had to deliver her baby a little early and by C-section. Her baby survived, but she did not. I totally respect your wife’s commitment to keeping her babies safe, but a potential side effect is not worth completely losing the mother.
I don’t mean to be alarmist, but public health is far better in Asian countries that previously went through SARS and Avian flu than it is here in the US. Going through immigration in Vietnam, Hong Kong, and Macau, everyone was scanned with a FLIR by health officials looking for people with elevated temperatures. If your temperature was too high, they might quarantine you. They were that serious about the threat. All US Immigration did was ask for people’s papers, asked them where they went, and asked foreign nationals for their fingerprints. There was no health check whatsoever. :(
Only your wife can decide, but her physician isn’t suggesting the vaccine for no reason.
I am just worried that the vaccine itself would cause harm to my wife and the babies. We planned our get-away trip to Cancun at the end of next month and the physcian seemed to make it mandatory for her to take the vaccine. I don’t know, I guess I am just getting a little worried. I wonder how fast the effects of the vaccine would kick in?
Panda, (I watched all your video clips)...I read in the L.A. Times and on the Nat’l Vaccine Info Center site that the nasal spray and single-dose injection do not contain Thimerisol; it’s only the multi-dose injections that do. I’m not saying she should or should not get the vaccine but that’s just a tip in case she wanted to avoid Thimerisol yet have the vaccine.
But even if popular fears of widespread lethal side effects are unsupported by science, the fears themselves are very real. A Consumer Reports poll reported that only 34 percent of those polled said they were definitely planning to get the vaccine.
my wife just got hers (since we have an infant, we are in the high priority group). I should get mine through work next week.
Are you talking about the seasonal flu or H1N1?
I’d be very surprised if you can get the H1N1 vaccine at work next week.
Google has a way to track flu by geographic region. Google Flu Trends They get near real time tracking by looking at search terms. They did some studies showing that certain search terms (they don’t say what) correlate with CDC data over the past few years.
In california, right now it is the one of the worst times it has been in the past 5 years. October usually only has 1/5 or so of the cases as the winter months. So, they are expecting it to become significantly worse.
I am just worried that the vaccine itself would cause harm to my wife and the babies. We planned our get-away trip to Cancun at the end of next month and the physcian seemed to make it mandatory for her to take the vaccine. I don’t know, I guess I am just getting a little worried. I wonder how fast the effects of the vaccine would kick in?
Get the vaccine ASAP. Imagine coming down with swine flu in Mexico and having to go to a Mexican hospital hoping for life saving treatment (not a great plan given how some swine flu victims can get so messed up, US hospitals have had to use the machine they normally use for heart transplants to oxygenate the blood because the lungs are too fluid filled). If the US hospital system had a national emergency declared by Obama to help them cope with overcapacity - imagine how much worse that would in be Mexico without as much health infrastructure, and what kind of treatment (if you can even get treatment) that might entail. Get the regular flu shot too.
Yes - the preservative-free vaccines are the way to go (whenever possible).
Everything has risks. The reason for putting preservatives in vaccines in the first place is that back in the 1920’s a bottle of diphtheria vaccine got contaminated with bacteria. It killed about 20 kids. It is thought that today’s manufacturing methods are much better, especially the use of single dose vials. But you never know. If the vaccine gets contaminated and there is no preservative, it could be deadly.
Yes - the preservative-free vaccines are the way to go (whenever possible).
Everything has risks. The reason for putting preservatives in vaccines in the first place is that back in the 1920’s a bottle of diphtheria vaccine got contaminated with bacteria. It killed about 20 kids. It is thought that today’s manufacturing methods are much better, especially the use of single dose vials. But you never know. If the vaccine gets contaminated and there is no preservative, it could be deadly.
Right, but they also have better transportation and refrigeration today vs. then. I’ll take my chances.
depends on where you work. work also puts me in one of the priority groups.
Oh, you’re one of those people.
Actually, I’m jealous. I work in a situation that is not considered high risk, but the people who come into my building might be. If you see a lady wearing latex gloves in the elevator, that’s me. I went to a first aid training several years ago where they pointed out that we were at high risk of TB simply because of our location and consumers. “Fan-tastic” was the first thing I thought.
if you really are concerned about your time accessing your office, you can wear a smock, a mask, and some glasses during your “public” time, then take them off when you arrive at your office/car.
H1N1 is a complete load. It is just another variant of the common flu. Did you know that pregnant woman may also, GASP, sometimes get complications from the regular flu?
Listen to what you are saying. ONE woman from Texas with complications. Did you hear how many people have this thing now? Let alone have contracted it, but did not show terrible symptoms and never saw a doctor (by far the majority).
Listen to calmer minds who do not stand to make a profit from the scare tactics (like CNN, other news shows, etc).
If you feel the need to protect your baby from H1N1 and are pregnant, that’s your call and I can’t blame you. Otherwise, if you are truly scared of the swine flu, I feel sorry for you. In fact, you’ve probably already been explosed, had “the sniffles” or some other low-level manifestation, and already fought it off with your natural immune system. Especially if you live in SoCal.
To further my point, look up for yourselves the death rate for the REGULAR seasonal flu and compare it to how many people have died this year from swine flu.
The average flu-complicated deaths are ~35,000-38,000 in the US.
Swine flu complicated deaths just cracked 1000. And the year is almost over. I’m not impressed.
Just got off the phone with our pediatrician’s office. They have completely run out of all seasonal flu vaccines for children and will not be receiving any more shipments. They referred me to the County which has not even received their first shipment yet. They said to call back in two weeks. There seems to be plenty for adults but none for kids. I’m a bit confused about this.
It’s because only certain “at risk” adults were strongly urged to get them, while every parent thinks “the worst thing in the world might happen to my babies!” and rushes out to get it immediately.
There seems to be plenty for adults but none for kids. I’m a bit confused about this.
I suspect two factors play into this: first, so much emphasis was given to the H1N1 vaccine that production of the seasonal variety vaccine was reduced leading to fewer doses available, and second, the first priority is always health care and mission critical employees, meaning even fewer doses of the seasonal were created for children.
And really? Everyone needs to calm down. This isn’t the Black Plague and we aren’t stuck with medieval medicine, no matter what Congress is trying to sell.
